{{Short description|none}} {{update|date=May 2020}}{{Globalize|date=January 2021|2=United States}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} [[File:Fête nationale belge à Bruxelles le 21 juillet 2016 - Drone de la police belge - Drone of the belgian police 05.jpg|thumb|Drone of the Belgian police in Bruxelles, 2016]] [[File:GrèveClimatGenève-27sept2019-080-PoliceDrone.jpg|thumb|A Swiss police officer operates a UAV during a protest in Geneve, 2019]] Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used for domestic police work in various countries around the world since the mid-2000s.<ref name="SS1">{{cite web| last=Lundin|first=Leigh| title=Eye in the Sky |url=https://www.sleuthsayers.org/2013/02/eye-in-sky.html |work=UAV Drones| publisher=SleuthSayers| location=Orlando| date=3 February 2013}}</ref> Their appeal comes from their small size, lack of crew, and lower cost compared to police helicopters. UAVs may be used for search and rescue operations, aerial patrols, and other roles that are usually served by crewed police aircraft. UAVs can be powerful surveillance tools by carrying camera systems capable of license plate scanning and thermal imaging, as well as radio equipment and other sensors.<ref>{{cite web|author=Harley Geiger|date=21 December 2011|title=The Drones Are Coming|url=http://www.cdt.org/blogs/harley-geiger/2112drones-are-coming|access-date=17 January 2012|publisher=Center for Democracy & Technology}}</ref> While a vast majority of law enforcement UAVs are unarmed, documents obtained by digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation indicated the U.S. Customs and Border Protection would consider arming their UAVs with "non-lethal weapons designed to immobilize" targets.
A dozen U.S. police forces had applied for UAV permits by March 2013.<ref name="NatGeo">Horgen, John (March 2013) [https://web.archive.org/web/20130219033616/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/03/unmanned-flight/horgan-text Unmanned Flight] National Geographic, Retrieved 20 February 2013</ref> This increased over time, with 167 police and fire departments purchasing unmanned aerial vehicles in the United States in 2016, double the number that was purchased in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Police & Law Enforcement Drones: Infographic – Dronefly|url=https://www.dronefly.com/pages/police-drone-infographic|access-date=2017-11-21|website=www.dronefly.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Glaser|first=April|date=2017-04-06|title=Police departments are using drones to find and chase down suspects|work=Recode|url=https://www.recode.net/2017/4/6/15209290/police-fire-department-acquired-drone-us-flying-robot-law-enforcement|access-date=2017-04-07}}</ref>
Several activists and organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation,<ref name=":0" /> the American Civil Liberties Union,<ref name="LAPD drones" /> the Electronic Privacy Information Center,<ref name=":1" /> and progressive activist Jim Hightower<ref name="JH1">{{cite web| last=Hightower| first=Jim| title=Here come the drones| url=http://www.jimhightower.com/node/7945#.URgWJaXC5I5| work=Domestic Drones| publisher=Saddle-Burr Productions| location=Austin| date=25 January 2013| access-date=15 March 2015| archive-date=2 April 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100432/http://www.jimhightower.com/node/7945#.URgWJaXC5I5| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="JH2">{{cite web| last=Hightower|first=Jim| title=The drone-industrial complex wants 30,000 eyes in the sky spying on us Americans by 2020| url=http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/node/3239#.URgWM6XC5I7 |work=Domestic Drones |publisher=Saddle-Burr Productions |location=Austin| date=5 February 2013}}</ref> have expressed privacy concerns over law enforcement use of UAVs<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-05 |title=drone – Drone Educational Institution |url=https://www.drone.education/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |language=en-US}}</ref> for surveillance purposes. Several laws and regulations have been proposed or passed in various jurisdictions that would limit police use of UAVs for surveillance.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
==By country==
=== China === Police forces in Xinjiang Province have been using DJI drones for surveillance of the population since the company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with local authorities in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-03-26|title=DJI Won the Drone Wars, and Now It's Paying the Price|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-03-26/dji-s-drone-supremacy-comes-at-a-price|access-date=2020-11-18}}</ref>
===Germany=== The Deutsche Bahn (German national railways) said in 2013 that it would test small surveillance UAVs with thermal cameras to prosecute vandals who spray graffiti on its property at night. Graffiti incidents cost the Deutsche Bahn $10 million per year to clean up.<ref>(27 May 2013) [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22678580 German railways to test anti-graffiti drones] BBC News Europe, Retrieved 27 May 2013</ref>
===Ghana=== The Ghana Drone Delivery Service was launched on 24 April 2019.<ref name="Ghana">{{cite news |title=Drone delivery startup Zipline launches UAV medical program in Ghana |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/24/drone-delivery-startup-zipline-launches-uav-medical-program-in-ghana/ |access-date=2019-05-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?q=ghana+drone+delivery+service|title=ghana drone delivery service - Google Search|website=www.google.com|access-date=2020-02-01}}</ref> The Ghana Police Service has adopted drone technology in order to complement the work of officers on the ground. Drone technology will enable the police force to detect and combat crime.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adomonline.com/ghana-news/police-to-use-drones-to-combat-crime-in-kwahu/|title=Police to use drones to combat crime in Kwahu|last=Agyeman|first=Adwoa|date=2019-04-19|website=AdomOnline.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-19}}</ref>
=== Greece === The Hellenic Police's Aviation Division has seen the use of drones since October 2019, after the Presidential Decree 98/2019, allowed the deployment of drones in policing and border control by the ''Service'' ''of Non-Staffed Aircraft'' (Greek: ''Υπηρεσία μη Στελεχωμένων Αεροσκαφών, Υ.Μ.Σ.Α.'').<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chelioudakis |first=Eleftherios |date=2020-06-29 |title=Greece: Technology-led policing awakens |url=https://aboutintel.eu/greece-policing-border-surveillance/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250425145027/https://aboutintel.eu/greece-policing-border-surveillance/ |archive-date=2025-04-25 |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=Aboutintel.eu |publisher=About:Intel |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="PresDecree 98/2019">{{Cite Greek law|elfull=Οργάνωση και διάρθρωση της Υπηρεσίας Μη Στελεχωμένων Αεροσκαφών.|enfull=Organisation and structure of the Service for Non-Staffed Aircraft.|year=2019|url=https://ia37rg02wpsa01.blob.core.windows.net/fek/01/2019/20190100165.pdf|language=Greek|article=1,3|date=17-10-2019|authors=The President of Democracy: Prokopios V. Pavlopoulos, The Minister of the Citizen Protection: Michail Chrisochoidis|publication-date=25-10-2019|enab=|n=Presidential Decree 98/2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-19 |title=Αποκάλυψη: Σηκώνει άμεσα τα drones η Τροχαία |url=https://www.newsauto.gr/news/apokalipsi-sikoni-amesa-ta-drones-i-trochea/ |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=NewsAuto.gr |language=el}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2022-01-07 |title= |script-title=el:ΕΛ.ΑΣ. {{!}} Παρουσίαση των drones της υπηρεσίας – Φωτογραφίες και VIDEO |trans-title=Hellenic Police {{!}} Presentation of the service’s drones – Photos and VIDEO |url=https://defenceredefined.com.cy/%ce%b5%ce%bb-%ce%b1%cf%83-%cf%80%ce%b1%cf%81%ce%bf%cf%85%cf%83%ce%af%ce%b1%cf%83%ce%b7-%cf%84%cf%89%ce%bd-drones-%cf%84%ce%b7%cf%82-%cf%85%cf%80%ce%b7%cf%81%ce%b5%cf%83%ce%af%ce%b1%cf%82-%cf%86/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250624131101/https://defenceredefined.com.cy/%CE%B5%CE%BB-%CE%B1%CF%83-%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%85%CF%83%CE%AF%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B7-%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD-drones-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-%CF%85%CF%80%CE%B7%CF%81%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%AF%CE%B1%CF%82-%CF%86/ |archive-date=24 June 2025 |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=defenceredefined.com.cy |language=el }}</ref>
It uses drones of ''BlueBird Aero Systems'' with 3 ThunderBs, 1 Spylite, and multicopters by the same company, which were added to the fleet in 2014 following a €800,000 procurement.<ref name=":4" /> In February of 2024 the police announced the use of drones for traffic enforcement, through the Traffic Control Monitoring Operations Room ({{Langx|el|Θάλαμος Επιχειρήσεων Παρακολούθησης Ελέγχου Κυκλοφορίας|italic=yes|size=90%}}) situated in the Attica region.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ananidas |first=Giorgos |date=2024-02-09 |title=Και drones για την Ελληνική Αστυνομία! (+video) |url=https://www.newsauto.gr/news/ke-drones-gia-tin-elliniki-astinomia-video/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509183524/https://www.newsauto.gr/news/ke-drones-gia-tin-elliniki-astinomia-video/ |archive-date=2024-05-09 |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=NewsAuto.gr |language=el}}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1755226293635785166 |user=hellenicpolice |title= |author=Hellenic Police |author-link=Hellenic Police |date=2024-02-07 |access-date=2025-08-20 |language=el |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250820082344/https://x.com/hellenicpolice/status/1755226293635785166?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1755226293635785166%7Ctwgr%5E6834fcacf9a757a6d5b69b98284b06250aafcc68%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https://www.newsauto.gr/news/ke-drones-gia-tin-elliniki-astinomia-video/ |archive-date=2025-08-20 |url-status=live |script-title=el:Στη μάχη για τη διαχείριση της κυκλοφορίας και τη διευκόλυνση των οδηγών ρίχνονται και τα drones της ΕΛ.ΑΣ. Έτσι η τροχαία θα παρεμβαίνει άμεσα και στοχευμένα όταν εντοπίζεται κάποιο κυκλοφοριακό πρόβλημα. |trans-title=In the battle to manage traffic and assist drivers, the drones of the Hellenic Police are also being deployed. This way, the traffic police will be able to intervene immediately and in a targeted manner whenever a traffic problem is detected.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Evgenidis |first=Giorgos |date=2024-02-12 |title= |script-title=el:Μέτρα για τα τροχαία και το κυκλοφοριακό: Online πρόστιμα από την κάμερα στο κινητό με SMS |trans-title=Measures for traffic accidents and congestion: Online fines from the camera to the mobile phone via SMS |url=https://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/1465391/metra-gia-ta-trohaia-kai-to-kukloforiako-online-prostima-apo-tin-kamera-sto-kinito-me-sms/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250315151855/https://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/1465391/metra-gia-ta-trohaia-kai-to-kukloforiako-online-prostima-apo-tin-kamera-sto-kinito-me-sms/ |archive-date=2025-03-15 |access-date=2025-08-20 |publisher=Proto Thema |language=el |quote=Το νέο εργαλείο που έχει στα χέρια της η ΕΛ.ΑΣ. είναι τα drones για τον έλεγχο της κυκλοφορίας, που αυτές τις μέρες έχουν ξεκινήσει δοκιμαστικές πτήσεις. Η εικόνα από τα drones μεταδίδεται στον θάλαμο επιχειρήσεων και παρακολούθησης και ελέγχου κυκλοφορίας της Τροχαίας. |trans-quote=The new tool at the disposal of the Hellenic Police is drones for traffic monitoring, which in recent days have begun test flights. The footage from the drones is transmitted to the operations and traffic monitoring and control center of the Traffic Police.}}</ref>
The Traffic Police of Thessaloniki is also reportedly using drones for the same purpose.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-03 |title=Οικονόμου: Η Τροχαία Θεσσαλονίκης ενισχύεται με 100 αστυνομικούς, drone και ελικόπτερο |url=https://www.parapolitika.gr/politiki/article/1307977/oikonomou-i-trohaia-thessalonikis-enihuetai-me-100-astunomikous-drone-kai-elikoptero/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008134253/https://www.parapolitika.gr/politiki/article/1307977/oikonomou-i-trohaia-thessalonikis-enihuetai-me-100-astunomikous-drone-kai-elikoptero/ |archive-date=2023-10-08 |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=www.parapolitika.gr |publisher=Parapolitika |language=el}}</ref> The drones of the {{Abbr|SNSA|Service of Non-Staffed Aircraft}} are also deployed to support operations of the Hellenic Fire Service during wildfires, natural disasters, earthquakes, or other emergency situations.<ref name=":4" /> In August of 2024 the UAV Office of the Heraklion Police Directorate was created.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-27 |title= |script-title=el:Αποκτά ομάδα drone η ΕΛ.ΑΣ στο Ηράκλειο με έξι αστυνομικούς |trans-title=The Hellenic Police in Heraklion acquired a drone team with six policemen |url=https://www.cretalive.gr/kriti/apokta-omada-drone-i-elas-sto-irakleio-me-exi-astynomikoys |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=www.cretalive.gr |language=el}}</ref> In 2020 it was reported that the {{Abbr|SNSA|Service of Non-Staffed Aircraft}} had acquired 12 new smaller drones from a chinese manufacturer at a cost lower or equal to €300,000, with some of them used for border surveillance in the Greek-Turkish border at the Evros region.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Souliotis |first=Giannis |date=2020-01-06 |title= |script-title=el:«Αντι-drone» τεχνολογία στην ΕΛ.ΑΣ. |trans-title="Anti-drone" technology in the Hellenic Police |url=https://www.kathimerini.gr/society/1058870/anti-drone-technologia-stin-el-as/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327175524/https://www.kathimerini.gr/society/1058870/anti-drone-technologia-stin-el-as/ |archive-date=2023-03-27 |access-date=2025-08-20 |website= |publisher=Kathimerini |language=el}}</ref>
===India=== Many police departments in India have procured drones for law and order and aerial surveillance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/In-a-first-Tamil-Nadu-police-use-UAV-in-murder-probe/articleshow/30967123.cms |access-date=March 15, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221131756/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/In-a-first-Tamil-Nadu-police-use-UAV-in-murder-probe/articleshow/30967123.cms |archive-date=February 21, 2015 |title=In a first, Tamil Nadu police use UAV in murder probe | Chennai News - Times of India |website=The Times of India }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://zeenews.india.com/news/gujarat/gujarat-police-to-use-uav-for-security-during-run-for-unity-marathon_896610.html|title=Gujarat Police to use UAV for security during 'Run for Unity' marathon|work=Zee News|access-date=8 January 2015|date=2013-12-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/chandigarh-police-get-uav/article1712117.ece|title=Chandigarh police get UAV|author=PTI|newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=8 January 2015|date=2011-04-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/privacy-highlights-in-india|title=2012: Privacy Highlights in India|publisher=Cis-india.org|access-date=8 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-22/news/33322409_1_mumbai-police-uav-unmanned-aerial-vehicle|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103074128/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-22/news/33322409_1_mumbai-police-uav-unmanned-aerial-vehicle|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 January 2013|title=Raj Thackeray's mega rally: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle kept an eye on Azad Maidan|work=The Economic Times|access-date=8 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/R57fKNvJGD5H5fdHAHR1QK/Giving-drones-to-our-cops-is-a-very-bad-idea.html |access-date=March 15, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105132647/http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/R57fKNvJGD5H5fdHAHR1QK/Giving-drones-to-our-cops-is-a-very-bad-idea.html |archive-date=January 5, 2015 |title=Giving drones to our cops is a very bad idea |date=2014-05-08 }}</ref>
=== South Africa === ==== Cape Town ====
The City of Cape Town's Law Enforcement agency (the chief such agency at the metro level of government) has expanded its use of digital tools, including UAVs, in recent years. In 2025, Cape Town's Mayoral Committee Member (MCM) for Safety and Security, JP Smith, said that these implementation efforts have become part of the city's public safety operations. The City's use of drones, along with a vast network of CCTV cameras, has already proven successful in assisting with both arrests and prosecutions.<ref name="Large South African city using cameras and drones to stop crime">{{cite web|url= https://mybroadband.co.za/news/government/594689-large-south-african-city-using-cameras-and-drones-to-stop-crime.html |title= Large South African city using cameras and drones to stop crime |author1=Daniel Puchert |publisher= MyBroadband |date= 14 May 2025 |access-date= 26 January 2026}}</ref>
===United States=== [[File:Anti-ICE protest in Foley Square, Manhattan, police surveillance drone overhead.webm|thumb|Anti-ICE protest in Manhattan, police surveillance drone overhead, 2026]]
In 2005, a fixed-wing drone was used by the Irwin County Sheriff's Office in Georgia to assist in the search for Tara Grinstead, a teacher and former beauty queen. Drone specialist Gene Robinson of RPFlightSystems, Inc. imaged large areas that could have possibly held clues to her whereabouts. Grinstead was not found during that effort, but in February 2017, one of her former students confessed to her murder and led Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigators to an area some 10 miles north of Ocilla, where possible human remains were found. This use of the fixed drone was likely the first instance of drone use by civilian police in the U.S.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
In 2011, an MQ-1 Predator was controversially used to assist an arrest in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the first time a UAV had been used by law enforcement officers in the U.S. to make an arrest. The suspect, cattle rancher Rodney Brossart, was arrested by Grand Forks police after he refused to return six cows that had wandered onto his property, resulting in a sixteen-hour armed standoff between Grand Forks SWAT and Brossart and his armed sons.<ref name= "North Dakota Man Sentenced to Jail In Controversial Drone-Arrest Case">{{cite magazine|author=Jason Koebler |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/01/15/north-dakota-man-sentenced-to-jail-in-controversial-drone-arrest-case |title=North Dakota Man Sentenced to Jail In Controversial Drone-Arrest Case |magazine=US News |access-date=6 February 2014}}</ref>
The drone, which was used on loan from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, was used to locate Brossart and his sons and let police know it was safe to make an arrest. Brossart told ''U.S. News & World Report'' that he felt the use of the drone was illegal, with his attorney stating that the use of the drone and his tasing during the arrest constituted "guerilla-like police tactics", but North Dakota District Judge Joel Medd upheld the drone's use in 2012, stating that "there was no improper use of an unmanned aerial vehicle" in the case.<ref name= "North Dakota Man Sentenced to Jail In Controversial Drone-Arrest Case"></ref>
In February 2013, Seattle mayor Michael McGinn ordered the Seattle Police Department to abandon plans to use UAVs after objections from residents.<ref name=ap-komonews-drones-returned>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/uk/seattle-mayor-grounds-police-drone-program-idUSBRE91704I/|title=Seattle mayor grounds police drone program|publisher=Reuters|date=8 February 2013|access-date=25 August 2025}}</ref> Two DraganflyerX6 craft had been purchased with a federal grant and the police had been granted FAA approval though they had not started using them.<ref name=ap-komonews-drones-returned/> The drones were to be returned to the manufacturer.<ref name=ap-komonews-drones-returned/> The Seattle Police Department had announced in October 2012 that they were drafting a policy and they were one of the first police forces in the United States to receive approval from the federal government to use UAVs.<ref name=ap-komonews-police-draft-drone-policy>{{cite news|url=http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Seattle-police-drafting-policy-for-using-drones-175786101.html|title=Seattle police drafting policy for using drones|publisher=Associated Press and KOMO-TV|date=25 October 2012|access-date=13 October 2013}}</ref> Opponents of the programme included the Washington chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.<ref name=ap-komonews-drones-returned/> The ACLU has also been concerned with privacy over drones that the Los Angeles Police Department had acquired.<ref name="LAPD drones">{{cite web|last1=Lopez|first1=Andrew|title=Drones Given to LAPD Raise Privacy Concerns|url=http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/california/Drones-Given-to-LAPD-Raise-Privacy-Concerns--261442721.html|publisher=NBC San Diego|access-date=1 June 2014|date=1 June 2014}}</ref>
The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act request on 10 January 2012 against the Federal Aviation Administration.<ref name=":0">{{cite web | author=Jennifer Lynch | url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/01/drones-are-watching-you |title=Drones are Watching You |publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation |date=10 January 2012 | access-date= 19 June 2012}}</ref> As a result of the request, the FAA released a list of the names of all public and private entities that have applied for authorizations to fly UAVs domestically.<ref>{{cite web | author=Jennifer Lynch | url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/04/faa-releases-its-list-drone-certificates-leaves-many-questions-unanswered |title=FAA Releases Lists of Drone Certificates – Many Questions Left Unanswered |publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation | date=19 April 2012 | access-date= 19 June 2012}}</ref> Some of these government licenses belong to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a component of the Department of Homeland Security. UAVs have been used by the CBP to patrol United States borders since 2005, and the agency owned ten UAVs as of 2012,<ref>{{cite web | author=Amie Stepanovich | url=http://epic.org/privacy/drones/ |title=Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Drones |publisher=Electronic Privacy Information Center | access-date= 19 June 2012}}</ref> with plans to use drones armed with non-lethal weaponry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/07/border-patrol-arm-drones/66793/|title=The Border Patrol Wants to Arm Drones|author=Philip Bump|work=The Wire|access-date=8 January 2015|date=2013-07-02}}</ref>
A May 2012, report issued by the DHS Inspector General found that CBP "needs to improve planning of its unmanned aircraft systems program to address its level of operation, program funding, and resource requirements, along with stakeholder needs".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2012/OIG_12-85_May12.pdf|title=CBP's Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Nation's Border Security|publisher=Oig.dhs.gov|access-date=8 January 2015|archive-date=3 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203090140/http://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2012/OIG_12-85_May12.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Also, despite the Bureau’s limited mission to safeguard the borders, the Bureau often flies missions for the FBI, the Department of Defense, NOAA, local law enforcement, and other agencies. In December 2011, the CBP made headlines when reporters discovered that the agency's UAVs were being used to assist local law enforcement in relation to cattle raiding in North Dakota without receiving prior approval from the FAA or any other agency.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-drone-arrest-20111211,0,324348.story | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Brian | last=Bennett | title=Police Employ Predator Plane Spy Drones on Home Front | date=10 December 2011}}</ref>
Individuals in the United States have few legal privacy protections from aerial surveillance conducted through UAVs. In ''Florida v. Riley'',<ref name="SS1" /> the United States Supreme Court held that individuals do not have the right to privacy from police observation from public airspace. The weakness of legal protection from UAV surveillance have led to calls from civil liberties advocacy groups for the U.S. government to issue laws and regulations that establish both privacy protections and greater transparency regarding the use of UAVs to gather information about individuals.<ref>{{cite web | author=Harley Geiger | url=https://www.cdt.org/blogs/harley-geiger/2703how-congress-should-tackle-drone-privacy-problem | title=How Congress Should Tackle the Drone Privacy Problem | publisher=Center for Democracy & Technology | date=21 December 2011 | access-date= 27 March 2012}}</ref>
As an example, the American Civil Liberties Union warned of a "nightmare scenario" in the future where the police might be able, with computer technology, to combine mobile phone tracking with video data and build up a database of people's routine daily movements.<ref name="NatGeo"/>
On 24 February 2012, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, joined by over 100 organizations, experts, and members of the public, submitted a petition to the FAA requesting a public rule-making on the privacy impact of UAV use in U.S. airspace.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epic.org/privacy/drones/FAA-553e-Petition-03-08-12.pdf|title=FAA 553e Petition : Drone Use in the United States is Increasing|publisher=Epic.org|access-date=8 January 2015}}</ref> In June 2012, Senator Rand Paul and Representative Austin Scott both introduced legislation that would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before using a UAV to conduct surveillance of criminal activities.<ref name=":2">{{cite web | author=Amie Stepanovich | url=http://epic.org/2012/06/new-report-finds-border-survei.html |title=New Report Finds Border Surveillance Drone Program Inefficient and Ineffective |publisher=Electronic Privacy Information Center | date=12 June 2012 | access-date= 19 June 2012}}</ref> EPIC has stated that transparency and accountability must be built into the FAA's system of UAV regulation in order to provide basic protections to the public.<ref name=":1">{{cite web | author=Amie Stepanovich | url=http://epic.org/2012/05/epic-stresses-need-for-privacy.html |title=EPIC Stresses Need For Privacy Evaluation in Drone Testing |publisher=Electronic Privacy Information Center | date=9 May 2012 | access-date= 19 June 2012}}</ref>
While Congress rapidly moves ahead to authorize further use of domestic UAVs, many remain skeptical regarding privacy concerns.<ref name="SS2">{{cite web|last=Lundin|first=Leigh|date=10 February 2013|title=Spy in the Sky|url=https://www.sleuthsayers.org/2013/02/spy-in-sky.html|work=UAV Drones|publisher=SleuthSayers|location=Orlando}}</ref> Some privacy scholars argue that the domestic use of UAVs for surveillance will ultimately benefit privacy by encouraging society to demand greater privacy rights. {{quote|Associated today with the theatre of war, the widespread domestic use of drones for surveillance seems inevitable. Existing privacy law will not stand in its way. It may be tempting to conclude on this basis that drones will further erode our individual and collective privacy. Yet the opposite may happen. Drones may help restore our mental model of a privacy violation. They could be just the visceral jolt society needs to drag privacy law into the twenty-first century.| Ryan Calo<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Calo |first1 = Ryan |date = 12 December 2011 |title = The Drone as Privacy Catalyst |journal = Stanford Law Review Online |volume = Stan. L. Rev. Online |issue = 29 |series = 64 |publisher = Stanford Law School |issn = 1939-8581 <!--0038-9765--> |access-date = 31 December 2011 |url = http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/drone-privacy-catalyst |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120107225758/http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/drone-privacy-catalyst |archive-date = 7 January 2012 |url-status = bot: unknown }}</ref>|}}
FBI Director Robert Mueller testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on 19 June 2013 that the FBI owns and utilizes UAVs for surveillance purposes.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kravets|first=David|title=FBI Admits It Surveils U.S. With Drones|url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/fbi-drones/|access-date=20 June 2013|newspaper=Wired|date=19 June 2013|quote=FBI Director Robert Mueller said today the bureau was surveiling the United States with drones. The revelation was during an FBI oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and comes as the bureau, along with the National Security Agency, are on the defensive about revelations that they are obtaining metadata on Americans’ phone records and Americans’ private data from companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others. The FBI is not alone in monitoring the U.S. with drones.}}</ref>
In 2014, the California State Senate passed rules imposing strict regulations on how law enforcement and other government agencies can use drones. The legislation would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before using an unmanned aircraft, or drone, except in emergencies.<ref name=":3">{{cite news|last1=Segar|first1=Mike|title=California Senate approves measure banning warrantless drone surveillance|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-religion-minnesota-idUSKBN0GS03R20140828|work=Reuters|access-date=11 September 2014}}</ref>
In January 2020, the United States Department of the Interior decided to ground around 800 DJI drones over security concerns.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Interior Department Grounds Chinese-Made Drones, Months After It Approved Them|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/01/29/800890201/interior-department-grounds-all-of-its-drones-citing-cybersecurity-other-concern|access-date=2020-11-17|website=NPR.org|date=29 January 2020|language=en|last1=Chappell|first1=Bill}}</ref> In October that same year, the United States Department of Justice banned the use of agency funds to acquire drones and other unmanned aerial systems "from foreign groups deemed threats", including DJI.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Maggie|date=2020-10-08|title=DOJ bans use of grant funds for certain foreign-made drones|url=https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/520269-justice-department-issues-policy-banning-use-of-grant-funds-for-certain|access-date=2020-11-17|website=TheHill|language=en}}</ref>
The US border patrol has been using drones for a very long time. The drones usually patrol the southern border.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/cbp-small-drones-program|title = CBP small drones program}}</ref>
===United Arab Emirates=== Police in the UAE have used drones to detect crime, monitor traffic and to ensure that people are obeying Covid restrictions. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/dubai-police-used-drones-to-detect-4400-violations-during-first-quarter-of-2021|title = Dubai: 4,400 violations recorded with drones}}</ref>
===United Kingdom=== In 2007, Merseyside Police was reported to be conducting tests with a UAV.<ref name=bbc-police-test-drone-spy>{{cite news|title=Police test drone spy helicopters|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6477831.stm|work=BBC News|date=21 March 2007|access-date=10 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=bbc-pilotless-police-drone-takes-off>{{cite news|title=Pilotless police drone takes off|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6676809.stm|work=BBC News|date=21 May 2007|access-date=10 July 2013}}</ref> Merseyside Police caught a car thief with a UAV in 2010, but had to stop UAV operations a week later as the UAV was not licensed. Regulations introduced at the start of 2010 required any aerial surveillance by unmanned aircraft—no matter the size of the drone—to be licensed.<ref name=bbc-unlicensed-merseyside-drone>{{cite news|title=Unlicensed Merseyside Police drone grounded|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8517726.stm|work=BBC News|date=16 February 2010|access-date=10 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=guardian-police-drone-arrest-backfires>{{cite news|title=Eye in the sky arrest could land police in the dock|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/feb/15/police-drone-arrest-backfires|newspaper=The Guardian|date=15 February 2010|access-date=10 July 2013|location=London|first=Paul|last=Lewis}}</ref>
A license was eventually granted by the Civil Aviation Authority, but the UAV was lost soon after during a training exercise in Aigburth, Liverpool, when it crashed in the River Mersey.<ref name=bbc-police-drone-crashes>{{cite news|title=Police drone crashes into River Mersey|work=BBC News|date=31 October 2011}}</ref> Police stated the UAV would not be replaced due to operational limitations and the cost of staff training.<ref name=bbc-police-drone-crashes/>
In March 2014, Sussex Police announced a pilot project using an Aeryon Skyranger for three months at Gatwick Airport.<ref name=bbc-news-sussex-gatwick>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-26544168|title=Radio-controlled aircraft trialled by Gatwick police|work=BBC News|date=12 March 2014|access-date=17 March 2014}}</ref> The project was funded by the Association of Chief Police Officers to test the effectiveness of the technology in policing.<ref name=bbc-news-sussex-gatwick/> The equipment cost £35,000 with the training of four police officers costing £10,000.<ref name=bbc-news-sussex-gatwick/> In October 2014 it was reported that five English police forces (Merseyside, Staffordshire,<ref name = 20120829BBC>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19397816 |title=The skies open up for large civilian drones |last=Reed |first=Jim |date=29 August 2012 |publisher=BBC News Technology |access-date=8 April 2013 }}</ref> Essex, Wiltshire and West Midlands) had obtained or operated unmanned aerial vehicles for observation.<ref>(22 October 2014) [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29717771 UK drones: Concern over increase in use] BBC News UK, Retrieved 22 October 2014</ref>
==See also== * Outside unpermitted gatherings during COVID-pandemic * Facial recognition system * Government by algorithm
==Further reading== * [https://slate.com/technology/2020/07/police-drone-facial-recognition.html Can a police drone use facial recognition to identify protesters?]
==References== {{Reflist}}
unmanned police Category:Law enforcement equipment